ANAHUAC, Texas - Beep... Beep... Beep... A small fork lift carrying 2,375 pounds of water loaded its first pallet onto a CH-47 Chinook.

One... two... three... push! Echoed throughout the Chinook by Soldiers, who pushed the pallet farther into the belly of the helicopter. After the sixth pallet was loaded and securely fastened to the floor of the aircraft, the helicopter's engines roared to life, and the rotors spun picking up speed as it geared up for take-off. Debris flew in a clockwise direction creating a cloud of dust around the Chinook.

Finally, the aircraft was airborne carrying a much needed commodity... an essential necessity for life-water.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment delivered 28,500 pounds of water Sept. 3 to citizens at the Anahuac Airport here. The city of Anahuac is a part of Chambers County, which was islanded from the rest of Texas due to the massive flooding as a result of Hurricane Harvey.

"The problem here is that there were several homes that took several feet of water, so there's trouble with those [citizens] finding drinkable water. With the flood, there's a lot of unsanitary conditions, so that's what this relief effort helps," said Ryan Holzaepfel, the fire marshal for Chambers County. "It has been some challenges [getting water]. Initially, the county was cut off from Houston and cut-off from Beaumont. Basically, the county was an island."

Delivering the water by air was a faster way of getting the water to Chambers County said Holzaepfel.

Enter the active-duty Army with two Chinooks.

"Seeing the aftermath, as it still remains today: houses, businesses, and parks that are underwater, is extremely hurtful. Not only as a military member but also as a citizen and knowing that part of our country and fellow American citizens has suffered this tragedy without power, food or drinkable water for several days is devastating," said Chief Warrant Officer 5 Steve Donahue Jr., command chief warrant officer with 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade "Task Force Iron Eagles." "Our [the U.S. Military] sole purpose in life is to protect our nation, and that's not always against foreign and domestic enemies; that also goes to areas of humanitarian efforts. And, this [Hurricane Harvey relief efforts] falls straight into that category."

With water surrounding the community, drinkable water has been in scarce supply.

"The drinking water situation is getting better. We were having a shortage of finding it, but the supplies have been coming in, which we do appreciate," Holzaepfel. "In most places the water has receded, there is very few places where there is still water over the roads."

Although most of the water has receded from the highways making the roads once again passable, the fastest way to get water into the county is by airlift.

"During times of need, we have a special mission where we can be mobilized... to be able to assist and the National Guard and other federal agencies to be able to provide relief. And that's exactly what we are doing today," said Donahue. "It's a true blessing and incredibly rewarding to know that we make an impact, regardless of how small or large. And, being able to deliver a necessity to those that are in need makes me proud. The ability to get water to people that are in dire need of it is fulfilling... This mission just makes me grateful that I can help in some way."

Holzaepfel added, "This is just a much faster way to get water into the hands of the citizens; we've been able to distribute [supplies] to key areas."

Anahuac Airport is just one of the delivery sites scattered across Chambers County. These areas are called Points of Distribution (PODs).

Ramona Pena, the health inspector for Chambers County, is an acting POD site worker, who explained how she felt as a Pod worker a citizen of Chambers County.

"It's good to see the big helicopters that come in not only for the supplies that it's carrying but also for the joy that it brings to the citizens, adults and children alike. For the kids, they just get excited to see the military helicopter because it's not something they see on a daily basis. But, as adults, we are excited because this is relief; we know that the precious cargo they are carrying will help us sustain everyday life after disaster."

A POD site worker helps distribute Meals, Ready to Eat otherwise known as MREs and water to different areas within Chambers County. The Anahuac Airport Site is specifically set up to distribute water to local fire stations in the county.

After unloading all of the water onboard the two Chinooks, Donahue said, "The most amazing feeling for me was to be able to see the smiles on the family members as well as the children as we unloaded the water from the Chinook."

Donahue wasn't the only one happy to see smiling faces.
"Oh my God! It's such a big relief when you see [Army] helicopters land and all of the smiling faces that get off of it wearing the Army uniform; it brings a sense of comfort to such a tragic event, and all you can do is smile back at [the Soldiers] because you know they are there to help," said Pena.

As the Soldiers loaded back on to the Chinooks and the engines roared back to life for its return to Kelly Airfield in San Antonio, Texas, Donahue reflected on his experience with the water delivery operation, "Missions like these make me proud to wear the Army uniform."